The 2017 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament was played from Friday, March 17 to Sunday, April 2, 2017, with the Final Four played at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas on March 31 and April 2. This was the first time that the women's Final Four was played in Dallas and the first time since 2002 that the Final Four games were played on Friday and Sunday, rather than Sunday and Tuesday. South Carolina defeated Mississippi State to win the championship.
Tennessee continued its record streak of making every NCAA women's basketball tournament at 36 consecutive appearances. UConn also continued its record streak of 10 consecutive Final Four appearances.
Schedule and venues The first two rounds, also referred to as the subregionals, were played at the sites of the top 16 seeds, as was done in 2016. The following are the sites that hosted each round of the 2017 tournament.
First and second rounds March 17 and 19 Colonial Life Arena, Columbia, South Carolina (Host: University of South Carolina) Donald L. Tucker Civic Center, Tallahassee, Florida (Host: Florida State University) Edmund P. Joyce Center, Notre Dame, Indiana (Host: University of Notre Dame) Frank Erwin Center, Austin, Texas (Host: University of Texas at Austin) Gill Coliseum, Corvallis, Oregon (Host: Oregon State University) Humphrey Coliseum, Mississippi State, Mississippi (Host: Mississippi State University) Memorial Coliseum, Lexington, Kentucky (Host: University of Kentucky) Xfinity Center, College Park, Maryland (Host: University of Maryland) March 18 and 20 Bramlage Coliseum, Manhattan, Kansas (Host: Kansas State University) Cameron Indoor Stadium, Durham, North Carolina (Host: Duke University) Ferrell Center, Waco, Texas (Host: Baylor University) Harry A. Gampel Pavilion, Storrs, Connecticut (Host: University of Connecticut) Hec Edmundson Pavilion, Seattle, Washington (Host: University of Washington) KFC Yum! Center, Louisville, Kentucky (Host: University of Louisville) Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles, California (Host: University of California, Los Angeles) Watsco Center, Coral Gables, Florida (Host: University of Miami)
Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight)
March 24–27 Bridgeport Regional, Webster Bank Arena, Bridgeport, Connecticut (Hosts: Fairfield University and University of Connecticut) Oklahoma City Regional, Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (Host: University of Oklahoma) Lexington Regional, Rupp Arena, Lexington, Kentucky (Host: University of Kentucky) Stockton Regional, Stockton Arena, Stockton, California (Host: University of the Pacific)
National semifinals and championship (Final Four and championship) March 31 and April 2 American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas (Host: Big 12 Conference)
Tournament procedure
Pending any changes to the format, a total of 64 teams will enter the 2017 tournament. Thirty-two automatic bids shall be awarded to each program that wins their conference's tournament. The remaining 36 bids are "at-large", with selections extended by the NCAA Selection Committee. The tournament is split into four regional tournaments, and each regional has teams seeded from 1 to 16, with the committee ostensibly making every region as comparable to the others as possible. The top-seeded team in each region plays the #16 team, the #2 team plays the #15, etc. (meaning where the two seeds add up to 17, that team will be assigned to play another).
The basis for the subregionals returned to the approach used between 1982 and 2002; the top sixteen teams, as chosen in the bracket selection process, hosted the first two rounds on campus.
The Selection Committee will also seed the entire field from 1 to 64.
Selections for the 2017 NCAA Division I women's basketball championship were announced at 7 p.m. Eastern time, Monday, March 13 via ESPN.
Subregionals tournament and automatic qualifiers
Automatic qualifiers The following teams automatically qualified for the 2017 NCAA field by virtue of winning their conference's tournament.
ConferenceTeamAppearanceLast bidACCNotre Dame24th2016America EastAlbany6th2016AmericanUConn29th2016Atlantic 10Dayton7th2015Atlantic SunFlorida Gulf Coast4th2015Big 12West Virginia12th2016Big EastMarquette10th2011Big SkyMontana State2nd1993Big South3rd2016Big TenMaryland25th2016Big West12th1992ColonialElon1stNeverC-USAWKU19th2015HorizonGreen Bay17th2016IvyPenn5th2016MAACQuinnipiac3rd2015MACToledo8th2001MEAC9th2014Missouri ValleyDrake11th2007Mountain WestBoise State4th2015Northeast5th2016Ohio Valley3rd2016Pac-12Stanford31st2016PatriotBucknell3rd2008SEC South Carolina14th2016SouthernChattanooga15th2016Southland2nd2016SWACTexas Southern1stNeverSummitWestern Illinois2nd1995Sun BeltTroy3rd2016West CoastGonzaga9th2015WACNew Mexico State5th2016
Tournament seeds +Bridgeport Regional – Webster Bank Arena,Bridgeport, ConnecticutSeedSchoolConferenceRecordRPIBerth type1UConnAmerican32–01Auto2DukeACC27–58At-large3MarylandBig Ten30–216Auto4UCLAPac-1223–89At-large5Texas A&MSEC21–1122At-large6West VirginiaBig 1223–1040Auto7TempleAmerican24–718At-large8SyracuseACC21–1031At-large9Iowa StateBig 1218–1260At-large10OregonPac-1221–1336At-large11ElonColonial27–621Auto12PennsylvaniaIvy League22–750Auto13Boise StateMountain West25–747Auto14BucknellPatriot 27–562Auto15HamptonMid-Eastern20–12151Auto16AlbanyAmerica East21–11113Auto+Oklahoma City Regional – Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, OklahomaSeedSchoolConferenceRecordRPIBerth type1BaylorBig 1230–37At-large2Mississippi St.SEC29–45At-large3WashingtonPac-1227–510At-large4Louisville ACC27–711At-large5TennesseeSEC19–1119At-large6OklahomaBig 1222–920At-large7DePaulBig East26–717At-large8LSUSEC20–1137At-large9CaliforniaPac-1219–1356At-large10UNIMissouri Valley24–852At-large11GonzagaWCC26–666Auto12DaytonA-1022–933Auto13ChattanoogaSouthern21–1068Auto14Montana St.Big Sky25–665Auto15Troy Sun Belt22–10106Auto16Texas SouthernSWAC23–9169Auto+Lexington Regional – Rupp Arena, Lexington, KentuckySeedSchoolConferenceRecordRPIBerth type1Notre DameACC30–32Auto2StanfordPac-1228–56Auto3TexasBig 1223–813At-large4KentuckySEC21–1014At-large5Ohio St.Big 1026–627At-large6North Carolina St.ACC22–839At-large7Kansas St.Big 1222–1024At-large8Green BayHorizon27–528Auto9PurdueBig 1022–1258At-large10DrakeMissouri Valley28–426Auto11AuburnSEC17–1445At-large12Western Ky.Conference USA27–635Auto13BelmontOhio Valley27–557Auto14Central Ark.Southland26–482Auto15New Mexico St. WAC24–6137Auto16Robert MorrisNEC22–10181Auto+Stockton Regional – Stockton Arena, Stockton, CaliforniaSeedSchoolConferenceRecordRPIBerth type1South CarolinaSEC27–43Auto2Oregon St.Pac-1229–44At-large3Florida St.ACC25–612At-large4Miami (FL)ACC23–815At-large5Marquette Big East25–729Auto6Missouri SEC21–1025At-large7CreightonBig East23–723At-large8Arizona St.Pac-1219–1234At-large9Michigan St.Big 1021–1142At-large10Toledo Mid-American25–844Auto11South Fla.American24–830At-large12QuinnipiacMAAC27–632Auto13Florida Gulf CoastAtlantic Sun26–880Auto14Western Ill. Summit 25–659Auto15Long Beach St.Big West23–10111Auto16UNC Asheville Big South19–14197Auto
Tournament records
Kentucky's Evelyn Akhator recorded 23 rebounds in a second-round game against Ohio State, tied for second most ever in an NCAA tournament game. Duke held Hampton to 2 points in the second period of a first-round game, the fewest points scored in a period in an NCAA tournament game. Baylor beat Texas Southern by 89 points in a first-round game, the largest margin of victory in an NCAA tournament game. Texas A&M was behind by 21 points to Penn (58–37) in the fourth period of a first-round game, but came back to win 63–61. Washington made 18 three-pointers in a second-round game against Oklahoma, the most ever made in an NCAA tournament game. UConn's Kia Nurse made 22 three-pointers in the tournament, the most ever made in an NCAA tournament. Aari McDonald tied the record in 2021. Nurse made 9 threes in the 2nd round against Syracuse, the most ever made in an NCAA tournament game.
Games
Bridgeport Regional, Bridgeport, CT
First round UConn took on the America East champion, in a first-round game between the top-seeded Huskies and the 16 seed Albany. The Huskies scored the first nine points, but the Great Danes cut the lead to three points 10–7 early in the first quarter. Despite leading 58–32 at halftime, the halftime discussion among the players was how to boost their intensity on defense. The Huskies held Albany to 23 points in the second half and went on to win the game 116–55. Iowa State chose to concentrate their defensive efforts on Syracuse's top two scoring threats, Britney Sykes and Alexis Peterson, but Gabby Cooper made them pay by hitting five three-pointers in the first seven minutes of the game. By the end of the first quarter, Syracuse had a 25-point lead. Although Iowa State outscored Syracuse the remainder of the game, the damage had been done and the eighth-seeded Syracuse team defeated the ninth-seeded Iowa State team 85–65. Cooper scored early for Syracuse but Sykes ended up with 28 points and Peterson with 25. Despite being the 12 seed, Penn dominated the fifth-seeded Texas A&M for the first three quarters of the game. The Quakers had a 21-point lead in the fourth quarter when the Aggies switched to a full-court press which turned out to be effective as it forced seven turnovers in the quarter. This, combined with their inability to shoot, missing their last 10 shots, created the greatest comeback in NCAA tournament history. The previous record was 16 points, but this game set a new record at 21 points. Texas A&M ended up with the 63–61 win over Penn. UCLA took on Boise State in a matchup between the 4 seed and the 13 seed. The Bruins scored 15 points before the Broncos had their first point. UCLA hit 58% of their shots and a slightly higher percentage, 59%, from beyond the arc. Billings had 19 points for the Bruins while Jordin Canada tied a school record with 16 assists, to go along with her 15 points. UCLA ended up with the win 83–56. Sixth-seeded West Virginia took on 11th-seeded Elon, playing in their first ever NCAA tournament. Despite having beaten Baylor in the Big 12 Conference tournament, the Mountaineers remained in a close game with the Phoenix for much of the game. The score was tied at 53 points apiece when the mountaineers ran off 10 straight points to open up a 10-point margin. Tynice Martin scored 26 points for West Virginia and Katrina Pardee hit two crucial three-pointers to help West Virginia to the 75–62 win. Elon is coached by Charlotte Smith who hit one of the most memorable shots in NCAA tournament history when she had a three-pointer in the final second of the 1994 championship game to seal the win for North Carolina. Oregon had not been in the tournament for 12 years but made the most of it. Seeded 10th, they took on the 7th-seeded Temple Owls in a first-round game which came down to the final seconds. The Duck's Ruthy Hebard sank a basket with 5½ seconds to go in the game that proved to be the winning basket. The Owls attempted a final shot but the freshman Hebard blocked it as time expired to give the Ducks a 71–70 victory. Hampton faced Duke in a first-round matchup between two teams that did not make the tournament last year. The Pirates had a "horrendous" second quarter scoring only two points against the Blue Devils 31. Rebecca Greenwell had a double double with 26 points and 10 rebounds for Duke who went on to win easily 94–31. Duke's Kyra Lambert left the game with an knee injury in the second quarter and did not return.
Bracket
Highlights The Texas A&M–Penn game saw the biggest comeback in the history of the women's tournament, as Texas A&M erased a 21-point deficit in the fourth quarter. The previous record was 16 points by Notre Dame in 2001 and Michigan State in 2005.
Bridgeport Regional Final
Bridgeport Regional All-Tournament team Napheesa Collier, Connecticut (MOP)